What is Oxandrolone, sold under the brand names Oxandrin and Anavar, among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is used to help promote weight gain in various situations, to help offset protein catabolism caused by long-term corticosteroid therapy, to support recovery from severe burns, to treat bone pain associated with osteoporosis, to aid in the development of girls with Turner syndrome, and for other indications. It is taken by mouth.
anavar oxandrolone
Side effects of oxandrolone include increased sexual desire, symptoms of hyperandrogenism such as acne, and symptoms of masculinization such as increased hair growth and voice changes. The drug is a synthetic androgen and anabolic steroid, hence is an agonist of the androgen receptor (AR), the biological target of androgens such as testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. It has strong anabolic effects and weak androgenic effects, which give it a mild side effect profile and make it especially suitable for use in women.
Medical uses
Oxandrolone has been researched and prescribed as a treatment for a wide variety of conditions. It was FDA-approved for treating bone pain associated with osteoporosis, aiding weight gain following surgery or physical trauma, during chronic infection, or in the context of unexplained weight loss, and counteracting the catabolic effect of long-term corticosteroid therapy. Oxandrolone is used to quicken recovery from severe burns. Oxandrolone improves both short-term and long-term outcomes in people recovering from severe burns and was well-established as a safe treatment for this indication. One of the underlying mechanisms in burn management is that oxandrolone helps reduce hypermetabolic response, which is characterized by increased energy expenditure, elevated stress hormones levels such as cortisol, insulin resistance, muscle wasting, and impaired wound healing; this response is reduced by improving whole-body nitrogen balance as well as preserving lean body mass during recovery.
As of 2016,[needs update] oxandrolone was presribed off-label for the development of girls with Turner syndrome,[medical citation needed] and counteract HIV/AIDS-induced wasting.
As of 2012, oxandrolone was used in the treatment of idiopathic short stature, anemia, hereditary angioedema,hypogonadism and alcoholic hepatitis.
Medical research established the effectiveness of oxandrolone in aiding the development of girls with Turner syndrome. Although oxandrolone had long been used to accelerate growth in children with idiopathic short stature, it is unlikely to increase adult height, and in some cases may even decrease it. As of 2015, oxandrolone had, therefore, largely been replaced by growth hormone for this use. However, a 2019 Cochrane review comparing effects of adding oxandrolone to growth hormone treatment to growth hormone alone found moderate-quality evidence that the addition of oxandrolone led to an increase in final adult height of girls with Turner syndrome, and low-quality evidence showed no increase in adverse effects. When the same review assessed the effects of adding oxandrolone to growth hormone treatment on speech, cognition and psychological status, the results were inconclusive due to very-low quality evidence. Children with idiopathic short stature or Turner syndrome were given doses of oxandrolone far smaller than those given to people with burns to minimize the likelihood of virilization and premature maturation.
A 2021 study found that administration of oxandrolone in transgender adolescents resulted in an increase in adult height.
Contraindications
Like other AASs, oxandrolone may worsen hypercalcemia by increasing osteolytic bone resorption. When taken by pregnant women, oxandrolone may have unintended effects such as masculinization on the fetus.
oxandrolone side effects
See also: Anabolic steroid § Adverse effects
As of 2004 it was thought that “uniquely” among 17α-alkylated AASs, It showed little to no hepatotoxicity, even at high doses. However, elevated liver enzymes have been observed in some people, particularly with high doses and/or prolonged treatment, although sometimes returning to normal ranges following discontinuation. The lack of hepatotoxicity turned out not to be true in the long run: Severe cases of peliosis hepatis, sometimes associated with liver failure and intra-abdominal hemorrhage; liver tumors, sometimes fatal; and blood lipid changes associated with increased risk of atherosclerosis led FDA to remove approval in June 2023. Additional warnings include the risks associated with cholestatic hepatitis, hypercalcemia in patients with breast cancer, and increased risk for the development of prostatic hypertrophy and prostatic carcinoma in older patients.
Women who are administered oxandrolone may experience virilization, irreversible development of masculine features such as voice deepening, hirsutism, menstruation abnormalities, male-pattern hair loss, and clitoral enlargement. Because of these side effects, doses given to women and children are minimized and people are usually monitored for virilization and growth abnormalities. Like other androgens, oxandrolone can cause or worsen acne and priapism (unwanted or prolonged erections). Oxandrolone can also reduce males’ fertility, another side effect common among androgens. In an attempt to compensate for the exogenous increase in androgens, the body may reduce testosterone production via testicular atrophy and inhibition of gonadotropic activity.
Unlike some AASs, It does not generally cause gynecomastia because it is not aromatized into estrogenic metabolites.[26] However, although no reports of gynecomastia were made in spite of widespread use, oxandrolone was reported in a publication in 1991 to have been associated with 33 cases of gynecomastia in adolescent boys treated with it for short stature. The gynecomastia developed during oxandrolone therapy in 19 of the boys and after the therapy was completed in 14 of the boys, and 10 of the boys had transient gynecomastia, while 23 had persistent gynecomastia that necessitated mastectomy. Though transient gynecomastia is a natural and common occurrence in pubertal boys, the gynecomastia associated with oxandrolone was of a late/delayed onset and was persistent in a high percentage of the cases.As such, the researchers stated, “although oxandrolone cannot be implicated as stimulatory [in] gynecomastia”, a possible relationship should be considered in clinicians using oxandrolone in adolescents for growth stimulation.
Buy Oxandrolone
Trade names Oxandrin, Anavar, others
Other names Var; CB-8075; NSC-67068; SC-11585; Protivar; 17α-Methyl-2-oxa-4,5α-dihydrotestosterone; 17α-Methyl-2-oxa-DHT; 17α-Methyl-2-oxa-5α-androstan-17β-ol-3-one
Routes of administration By mouth
Drug class Androgen; Anabolic steroid
ATC code A14AA08 (WHO)
Bioavailability 97%
Protein binding 94–97%
Metabolism Kidneys (primarily), liver
Elimination half-life Adults: 9.4–10.4 hours
Elderly: 13.3 hours
Excretion Urine: 28% (unchanged)
Feces: 3%
More Introduction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxandrolone
